


Give Me a Second Chance

by Finnister



Category: Homestuck
Genre: College AU, F/M, Fluff, No Game AU, Red Romance, Remember when John said he wasn't a homosexual?, Spoiler: they kiss, i sure do
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2018-08-08 06:50:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7747414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finnister/pseuds/Finnister
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quiet mild-tempered John Egbert meets the spunky new student Roxy Lalonde in their senior year. They get along pretty damn well and he eventually invites her over to her place for a bit of studying. Naturally, John, being the goof he is, panics when she kisses him. Thinking she's done something wrong, Roxy quickly leaves, leaving John flustered and a little heartbroken. Roxy graduates early and John neither sees nor hears anything from her. That is, until two years later when he meets a familiar face at the coffee shop he works at while attending college.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Check Out the Transfer

"John!"

A sharp jab into the young man's ribs by an unsuspecting elbow jerked him out of his daydream. He was just beginning to doze off when his best pal attacked him with a well-planned attack to his soft, left side. "Wh─Dave!" hissed John, slapping Dave's arm away from him. "What the fuck, man?"

Dave shrugged and leaned back into his desk nonchalantly. "You were too far gone, Egbert, I was starting to worry that we would never get you back from that daydream escapade you went on."

John huffed and lifted his glasses off of his nose, giving him some room to rub his tired eyes. "It's way too early for this kind of crap." He yawned and folded his arms on the desk and rested his head on them. "What time is it anyway?" 

Without missing a beat, Strider replied with, "7:44. The bell's about to ring in three seconds."

Sure enough, three heartbeats later, the shrill ringing of the school bell drilled into John's tired ears. He groaned and lifted his head, glancing at Dave. "How do you do that every time?"

"Do what?" Dave wrinkled his nose. He always did that when he tried hiding his amusement or a smile.

"Predict when the bell's going to ring? The clock in here is always off."

Dave tsked quietly and shook his head, blond locks drooping down over his shades. "I don't know, bro, I'm just naturally good with time."

"Naturally good at being a jackass," muttered John quietly under his breath. 

"What was that?"

"Shh Mr. Makara is here!"

Before John could even finish talking, a tall figure strode into the room, having to duck slightly under the doorway. His wavy black hair was pulled up into a ponytail that rested neatly on the back of his head. He wore a white undershirt with the collar folded downwards neatly. Over that was a dark indigo shirt with long sleeves and a matching tie drooping down from his neck. His eyes were dark and gray bags made him look even older. Other than that, he wore his usual cheery smile and immediately brightened up when he saw the class slowly settle down. He faced the class of fifteen students or so, but before he could speak, the door was jerked open and in rushed another student. He skidded in and scrambled to his seat next to John in the back corner of the room. Mr. Makara raised his eyes to the ceiling and inhaled loudly, letting out a soft sigh. Shaking his head, he turned back to the class and began the lesson.

John turned to the newcomer seated on his right. "Karkat this is the fourth time this week; I don't think Mr. Makara is going to keep letting you off so easily if you keep this up."

"Relax, Egbert!" hissed Karkat in a not-so-quiet whisper. "Gamzee will get me off the hook."

John rolled his eyes. "Just because you're nice and tight with Mr. Makara's son, it doesn't mean you get unlimited chances."

"Egbert, listen to the damn ketchup bottle and shut the fuck up." Dave sat up and slapped John's shoulder. Karkat flushed after being called another stupid nickname by Dave. The ginger jokes never ceased.

Mr. Makara had just got his computer set up and ready to go when a knock on the door interrupted him. He lifted his head up and watched as the door was yanked open and the principal, Mrs. Ohpeee stuck her head in. "Grant, a moment, please?" Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she wore a dark green blazer. She always dressed so professionally but was actually a very casual person.

Mr. Makara nodded silently and strode out the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

The room immediately exploded with chatter.

Next to John, Dave snorted loudly. "I can't believe Makara's first name is  _Grant._ "

"I can't believe you care so much," Karkat shot back.

Before those two could start bickering, John piped up, "So what do you think's going on out there?"

"Probably selling drugs on the down-low. Y'know. Like what all the cool kids are doing." Dave lifted his legs up and propped them onto the desk, leaning his chair back onto its hind legs and placing his hands behind his head. Typical cool kid style.

John raised an eyebrow. "You think sweet, innocent Makara would sell drugs? Especially to the principal of all people?"

"'Sweet and innocent'─Egbert it's not like the man is going around saving puppies and helping build orphanages all damn day for fucks' sake." Karkat crossed his arms across his chest and flipped his long, curly red hair out of his eyes. 

The door opened once again as Mr. Makara returned to the classroom. He said a quick thank and goodbye to Mrs. Ohpeee and faced the class.

John grimaced. "Does _that_ look like a man who would─" He stopped suddenly, his words being caught in his throat as he saw the young lady step into the classroom after Mr. Makara. His eyes were locked on her; absolutely transfixed. She was stunning, but not in the way you would think. If you were to ask young Egbert why he was so starstruck by this girl, he would furrow his brow and think about it for ten straight minutes before replying with a simple "I don't know." 

She was beautiful, yes, but that's not what caught his gaze and made his heart flutter like a trapped bird. It was just something about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Maybe it was the way her strangely colored bright pink eyes swept over the class, hesitating briefly on him─or maybe he was just imagining it? It didn't matter: they were so full of excitement and shining brilliantly with enthusiasm. A small smile dancing on her lips as her hands folded in front of her. Her hair was bright blonde with pink ends. Her white shirt with a bright pink cat was tucked into her pink skirt to match her boots, and her belt was wrapped around her waist. She was fairly tan and fit with lean muscles and had some curve to her form. But despite all of this, it still wasn't what captivated Egbert. He just had some kind of  _feeling_ in his gut that made his chest tighten and stomach churn with nerves. His strange attraction towards her would perplex him even years afterward. Hell, she was so Goddamn . . .  _amazing._ Even her  _name_ seemed to just roll off the tongue:

"─Roxy Lalonde." She made a small wave at the class. "Or you can just call me Rolal."

"Roxy here is the new student." Mr. Makara's dark eyes glanced over the class. "I hope you treat her a warm welcome and show some respect."

Dave scoffed and John tore his eyes away from Roxy to shoot him a glare. 

The math teacher gestured towards the class and Roxy looked around, eventually spotting an open seat next to Jane Crocker, John's cousin, on the opposite side of the room. Roxy instantly stroked up a conversation with the Crocker girl. Jane seemed hesitant but eventually the two began having a full-on conversation until Mr. Makara stood back up at the front of the class.

"Yo, Egbert, you've been staring for like, twenty minutes now, knock it off it's starting to creep me out."

John looked up at Dave abruptly, startled when he spoke. "What? Staring? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid with us." Karkat smirked. "You've been checking out the albino Lalonde babe for nearly half the class."

John snorted and sunk lower into his chair, huffing and crossing his arms across his chest. "Was not."

"Mr. Egbert." Makara's voice cracked like a whip through the room, his fellow peers' voices dying down into a quiet hush as eyes turned to him. Mr. Makara raised his chin, jutting it outward. "Since you enjoy interrupting my class so much, why don't you share with us what you are so eager to say to your friends."

John's face burned brighter than a stop light. Tell the whole class he had the hots for the new girl? He might as well just pop a boner and stand up in front of the class; it'd be easier that way. "Uhhh . . . no, not really. I'm fine."

The Strider boy sat up and leaned against his desk, flashing a wide smile. "Ol' Egbert here was just telling us how he was making googly eyes at our lovely new transfer."

John shot up, glaring daggers at his pal while Mr. Makara raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Is that so, Johnathon?"

"No! I mean, yes, wait, no, i-it's not like that!" Oh God, how he wished he could just vanish into thin air and disappear into the wind right now. He could  _feel_ her pretty pink eyes burning holes into his head. He didn't dare turn to look.

"Oh goodness, that dork," muttered Jane under her breath. "If anyone asks, I'm not related to him." She picked up her pencil and began doodling on her work, trying to duck down so no one paid any attention to her.

"Are you?" Roxy tilted her head. "Related to him, I mean."

Without looking up, Jane nodded, her black locks falling across her face like a veil of hair separating her from the new student. She sighed and brushed the hair out of the way. "Cousins."

"Oh." Roxy turned and gazed across the room at the Egbert boy. People smirked and chuckled amongst themselves, occasionally casting amused looks in Roxy's direction. John, on the other hand, looked like he was trying his hardest to sink into the desk and never be seen again. This tall and lanky boy with the white long-sleeved undershirt and dark blue t-shirt, along with thick black glasses had his eyes on her? It had been, what, twenty minutes? She'd been lying if she said she wasn't flattered by it. He did have a kind of dorky charm. She might as well have some fun with this while she can.

Later after class Karkat would jab John and point down the hallway, whispering that Roxy was coming their way, while Dave smirked and leaned against the locker next to him. John's head snapped up and he held onto the door of his locker. He gazed down the busy and bustling hallway, his eyes locking on the girl with hair so blonde is was nearly white and eyes so bright they nearly blinded him. And sure enough, it looked like she was making her way down the hall towards them, her backpack slung over her shoulders. "It's John, right?" she asked, stopping in front of the three boys and raising a blonde eyebrow. Karkat was the tallest there, nearly towering over her. John was a little shorter, and then Dave was slightly above her. She wasn't the tallest girl but  _damn_ these boys were _giants_. 

"Uhhhh . . ." John blinked, still a little dumbfounded. Dave kicked his leg and John shook away his nerves, trying to put on a realistic smile. "Yeah, I'm John Egbert. These are my pals, Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas."

Roxy lifted a hand and did another small wave. "Sup, guys." Dave did a cool kid upward nod while Karkat just crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed and looking her up and down. Roxy shook away the awkwardness and focused back on John. "So. John. You doing anything during lunch break? Still need a guide to show me around this hell hole." She flashed a smile and John got to see the pink braces covering her teeth up close.

John inhaled sharply, trying to control his fluttering heart. "Uh, yeah, that's fine. I'll meet you around lunch near the office. You know where that is, right?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, it's the first thing I saw when I walked into here." Her smile was infectious, making John want to burst out in his own goofy grins. 

"Soooo I guess I'll see you then?" He shrugged his backpack strap over his shoulder, giving her a small smile. 

"Yup. At lunch. Later today." Her hand gripped the strap of her backpack tightly, anxiety twisting her stomach.  _Come on, Rolal, keep it cool! What's even gotten into you?_ She pushed away the intrusive thoughts and just nodded. "Alright. See ya then, John." She turned and walked down the opposite way she came, waving over her shoulder.

 _Wow, real smooth, Roxy. A little bit of butterflies in your stomach and you instantly panic._ She frowned. Usually, she can keep calm but something weird happened back there, making her brain go to shit and her stomach do a backflip. Curse his stupid goofy smile and floppy dark hair and shirt that was a little too big for him so the sleeves went past his hands. 

Fuck it's happening again.

She pushed away her thoughts of him once more and pulled out her schedule. She had to get to her next class before the bell rang─she didn't want to be late on her first day. 

"Roxy!" 

The blonde looked up and spotted a short, slightly chubby girl with dark black hair and round glasses hurrying to catch up with her. Roxy smiled, recognizing her pal Jane. "Aye, sup, Janey!" said Roxy cheerfully. 

Jane stopped next to Roxy, panting slightly. "Where are you going next?"

Roxy squinted down at the tiny print on her schedule. "Uh, I have Biology with Ms. Rosa. Room 309."

"Great!" Jane beamed. "I can walk you there; I have room 311 next period." 

"Sounds like a plan, Janey. Lead the way." Roxy pretended to bow, one hand spread out in front of her. Jane giggled and walked forward, Roxy following next to her. 

"So what did you say to John and his buddies? If you don't mind me asking." The shorter girl looked up at Roxy curiously, peering over her round red glasses.

She ignored the nervous feeling she got when she heard his name and shrugged. "I just asked if he could show me around school. Y'know. A tour guide."

A sly smile erupted over Jane's face. "Sounds like a date."

Roxy wrinkled her nose. "Date shmate. It's just showing me around. Nothing romantic like that, Janey."

Jane chuckled and rolled her eyes but said nothing else about the subject. "Okay, Rolal, whatever you say." They began their trek up the stairs, dropping the topic of cute nerdy boys in big shirts and made their way to class.

Back at his locker, John gathered the rest of his things and slammed the door shut. Dave grinned. "So Egbert. Nice job getting yourself a date later."

John raised a brow and stared at his albino friend, smirking. "Date? Really? Since when is showing the new student around considered a 'date' now?" He adjusted his backpack and walked away, making Kar and Dave catch up with him. 

"Since now, Eg-fuck." Karkat jokingly pushed against his side. "Obviously, there's  _some_ kind of attraction between the two of you."

"Pfft. Here comes Vantas, the  _love expert._ " John sped up and turned the corner sharply, hearing enough of the embarrassing conversation. 

Dave and Karkat would not be deterred. "Egbert, listen. At least Vantas here  _has_ a homie bromie."

John stopped suddenly and looked back at Dave. "A  _what_ _?_ "

Strider shrugged. "You know, homie bromie. Your gay bro."

"You mean, my boyfriend." Karkat's eyebrows shot up so far they practically disappeared into the tangled red mess he called hair. 

"Yeah, you and the Ampora kid."

"Well, why couldn't you just say that instead of making it weird?"

John rolled his eyes, walking away before the two could begin bickering. It never ended with those two.

"Will you cut that shit out?" Karkat caught up with John and slapped his shoulder.

"Nah. I didn't feel like hearing you two start having a cat fight."

"John, for real, wait." Now Dave was back at John's side, throwing his arm around the taller boy's shoulder. "Answer me honestly: Do you have the hots for the Frenchy Lalonde babe?"

John hesitated in the middle of the nearly empty hall. The bell was about to ring and most of the kids were already in class. Only the students who enjoyed smoking in the bathroom or slouching around the hallway on their phones were left out in the halls.Taking a deep breath and closing his deep blue eyes, John sighed. Did he really feel attraction to Roxy? She was beautiful, yes, and she seemed smart. All during class she was answering Mr. Makara's questions and was focused, taking notes and paying attention. She just seemed so . . . great. 

Finally looking back up at his friends, John nodded slowly. "Yeah, I suppose that's one way to put it."

Before he could even finish talking, Dave laughed loudly, clapping John on the back. "Johnny Appleseed here's got a crush! You hear that Kar!" He reached up and ruffled John's already messy hair. "Don't worry, bro, we're going to help you get the girl. Right, Kar?"

Kar smirked. "If we're his only hope, then it's out duty to help him out."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks, guys, but I can handle this."

"Suuure you can, Eggy." Dave tapped John's nose and lowered his glasses enough so he could wink at him. "Class is about to start and we know how you  _love_ your stupid chemistry─"

"Biology. I'm heading to Biology."

Dave snickered. "Trust me, follow our plan, and you and Roxy will definitely be having some chemistry."


	2. Science Dorks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cat puns.

With a silent wave to her new pal, Jane, Roxy stepped into the classroom and couldn't help but to grin. She had been studying biology for as long as she could remember; playing with small toy lab replicas and reading hundreds of news articles filled with the science she adored. Yes, she was infatuated with the idea of going off to college and studying a wider variety of biology, but that would have to wait. Because now she had to finish twelfth-grade biology before being shipped away to the university. 

 Her small smile continued to grow as she stepped into the classroom and chose a desk to sit at, right smack in the middle of the class. She snorted out of amusement when she noticed the crude drawings and graffiti scattered across the old wooden desk. "Dicks" was one word that stuck out the most, smeared across the middle in big curly letters.  Though old and worn down, the biology room still had plenty of. . . _life_ to it. Three large lab tables were on either side of the room, the black countertops gleaming with potential.  Microscopes were stacked on a counter in the back of the room and motivational posters were scattered across the room (her favorite being the poster with a small kitten grasping onto a tree branch with the words "Hang in there!") 

As the kids began flocking into the room, she realized she recognized no one there. Oh well. Great opportunity to make new friends. She sat her backpack on the floor next to her desk and pulled out her pencil, tapping it against the desk aimlessly while staring off into the distance, zoning out of reality. 

"Roxy!"

Snapping up like a Goddamn bullet, her blonde locks whipping past her face, she stared, tense and alert. Her shoulders straightened, forearms instinctively flexing, her eyes darting around like a cat waiting to pounce.

"Whoa, Roxy, it's just me!"

John stepped forward, stopping in front of her desk. His normal goofy grin was plastered across his face, and his jet-black hair was sticking up in odd places. One hand held onto his backpack strap slung across his shoulder, the other leaned against her desk. 

Roxy relaxed, taking a deep breath. "Jesus, Johnny boy, you scared the fuck outta me!" She let out a breath of relief and leaned back into the desk, crossing her arms across her chest. "So, you're in biology, too?"

John nodded eagerly. "Hell yeah, it's my favorite subject!"

The albino leaned forward, her eyes gleaming excitedly. "No fucking way!" she said excitedly. "It's my fave, too!"

"Really!" John asked happily. His eyes lit up. "Mind if I sit by you?" Before she could even answer, John slid in the seat to the left of her, setting his backpack down with a  _clunk._ "I never met someone who loves biology. How long have you been studying it?"

With a roll of her eyes and a sarcastic scoff, Roxy waved her hand and smiled slyly. "Oh, not too long," she mused, "just, y'know, my  _entire freaking life!_ _"_

The giddy noise that just emitted from John was almost inhuman. "Same! I've been reading books and studying logs from scientists all over! I love it all,  _especially_ the ectobiology."

"Damn, Johnny, I'm impressed."

John grinned.

"But not quite."

His smile vanished.

Leaning forward towards the boy, Roxy's sly, cat-like smile returned. "Tell me, my sciencey pal, the noble gasses."

 _Oh my God, she's actually_ testing _me_. John smiled softly, undeterred. "Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon," he said quite smugly. 

"Dip-slip fault?" 

"An inclined plane along which subsurface plates move."

"Monocot?"

"Flowering plant's seeds that usually contain one cotyledon."

She wanted to reach her hand out and smear away the smug look he had. 

"Boling point of mercury?"

"675.1 degrees Fahrenheit." He leaned back into his chair, arms cross behind his head and grinning with a holier-than-you look. 

Roxy squinted, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "67 _4_.1 degrees, smartass."

The desk jerked violently as John sat up like a bolt of lightning. "God  _dammit!_ I knew it!"

It was her turn to wear the smug look. "Apparently, you didn't." She snorted. The nearly albino girl tsked quietly and leaned her arm onto the desk, resting her cheek into her hand and raising an eyebrow at the boy. "Can't say I'm impressed, Johnny." 

With a roll of his eyes, John leaned back into his seat, trying to hide the fact that his heart was pounding a mile a minute inside his chest. Just like earlier, he seemed entranced by her; something he could not explain. He wanted to reach out and touch her freckled face just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. It felt like a figment of his imagination like she would disappear at any moment. Maybe he was going insane? No, of course not. Maybe he—

"John?"

He blinked and met her confused gaze. "Hunh?"

"You alright there?" She seemed genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I'm doing great." He frowned, cocking an eyebrow. "Why?"

"You looked like a robot all rusted up that couldn't move. You were staring pretty hard," she mused with a slanted smile.

He opened his mouth to speak but the door flew open.

"Sorry I'm late, class." A tall well-dressed man hurried into the room, pulling on the gray cuffs on his sleeves. "I know how  _eager_ you all are to learn about the world of biology." His tone was cheery but the underlying sarcasm was easily detected. He stopped at his desk and immediately began shuffling through the papers tossed about the surface. He paused and looked up, dusting his suit off. "I'm the new twelfth-grade science teacher." His voice was loud, resonating around the room with ease. "My name is Mr. Sign, but you all may call me Kankri. I don't really care which." He sat down on his desk, one leg pulled up and resting on the other one. "Now, I know you're all wondering what happened to the old science teacher. . ." He paused, running a hand through his light beard fuzz, ". . .But I don't think I'm allowed to say. Other than that, let's have a good rest pf the year, yeah? Now, it's time for the fun part: Lab partners. And I hope you appreciate me giving you the liberty to choose your own partners."

The tension in the classroom thickened. Friends glanced at each other hopefully. Angry looks were passed around as friend betrayed friend in choosing their partners and the nervous asocial kids slouched back into their seat.

John shot a quick glance in Roxy's direction, hoping she was giving him the signal back. She was still leaning on her desk, watching Kankri closely. "So, Eggy, you're gonna be my partner in crime?" She didn't look at him as she spoke.

"Yeah, of course!" said John with maybe a little too much enthusiasm. 

"Niiiice." Roxy leaned over and lightly punched his shoulder. "Ecto-buddies, amirite?" 

"Damn right." He fought the urge to softly touch his shoulder where she had left her mark.

Kankri clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Yes, great, I see  _most_ of you have found your biology adventure buddy. Wonderful. Next," he shuffled through some more papers, "uh, next I guess I'll make you. . . read something." His search became more and more frustrated. "Yeah, textbooks are in the back. Read chapter, hm, one? Section . . . four and, uh, write down and define the vocabulary." 

After ten minutes of simply copying down words and defining them, our two dorks were finished with their work and were goofing off in the back of the class at one of the lab tables. 

John put the cap back onto the marker and grinned, his new blue whiskers and cat nose showing brightly on his face. "So? How do I look?" He flipped his hair back and winked.

Rolal snorted loudly. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand before falling into a fit of giggles. "You look like the biggest nerd on the planet," she said in between laughs. 

He placed his fists on his hips and puffed out his chest. In the deepest voice he could manage, he growled, " _Me-ow,_ " separating it into two syllables. "Just get me some cat ears and it'll be  _purr_ fect."

" _John!"_ She fell into another batch of giggles, roughly shoving his shoulder. 

He rubbed his shoulder and pretended to look hurt. "You  _cat_ to be  _kitten_ me right  _meow._ " 

Another snort escaped her as she leaned against the table for support. "That joke sure was the  _cat's_ pajamas."

It was John's turn to wheeze with laughter. "Well, I guess the  _cat's out of the bag._ "

Roxy stopped abruptly, staring John straight in the eye. John paled and watched her nervously, fearing he had said something wrong. "Egbert, I don't like that kind of—" she dropped her voice to a whisper, "— _cat_ -itude of yours."

John failed miserably to hold back a howl of laughter. By the end of class, the two lab partners were wiping tears away from their face and trying to muffle their laughs. Every now and then they would look at each other but only for a second before they burst out laughing once more.

"God _damn,_ Eggy! You sure know your cat puns." She pushed back a stray strand of pale blonde hair out of her face. Her eyes were still wet from tears.

John nodded. "I've been called an excellent punner." He looked down at his fingernails, faking smugness.

"You mean,  _egg_ cellent."

The bell rang before their laughing fit could begin again. The two sat up quickly and packed their stuff away. Roxy stopped him. "Wait! Uh, before you turn that assignment in tomorrow, check number thirteen, I think you got the definition wrong." She grimaced, gave him a quick thumbs-up, and slung her backpack over her shoulder, stepping out of the room.

Of course, John was confused. He pulled out the assignment and scanned it until he reached number thirteen. Yes. . .the definition seemed right. . . His breath caught in his throat as he spotted the scrawlings in someone else's handwriting scribbled next to number thirteen: 

_Hey, Eggy, you're a rad kid, text me sometime?_

Next to that was a phone number.

John reread the note eight times making sure it was actually there in front of him. After the ninth time, he finally shoved the paper into his bag and bolted out of the classroom. He nearly ran into Dave as he walked down the hall. "Whoa, there, Egbert, when're the races starting?"

John was too excited. "What?"

"You were going so fast I assumed you were off to the races. Ah, nevermind." He waved a dismissive hand. 

The younger boy looked around. "Hey, where's Karkat? Aren't you in the same class as him?"

"The bathroom."

John smirked. "Uh-huh. And Eridan?"

"Also the bathroom."

"Oh, hell." John shook his head and walked past Dave, heading to his next class. "Those two are always up to something."

"You could learn a thing or two from them." Dave matched John's stride.

"Hush."

"Have you made any moves on foxy Roxy?"

"For fucks' sake." He turned into his next class just as the bell rang. Luckily, it was study hall where the teacher never really gave a fuck. He slid into one of the desks in the very back as per usual and Dave followed suit. 

Trying his best to ignore Dave's snarky remarks, John reached into his backpack and pulled out the slightly crumpled paper with his science assignment on it. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and carefully typed in the number, rereading it several times to make sure it was the right one and typed up the message.

_Hey, Rox it's John, you still up for the tour around school?_

Smiling, he sent the message.

Not even three seconds later his phone was snatched out of his hands. He reached forward, letting out an annoyed cry, and tried stealing it back from Dave. The Strider boy held the phone away from John, pushing him away. "What'cha reading here, Egbert? Some kind of diary or some shit?" He glanced at the screen, still holding John back. "Whoa, this is Roxy? As in,  _Roxy_ Roxy?  _The_ Roxy Lalonde?"

John slapped Dave's arm. "Yes, now give it—"

"Wait, she just texted back." He cleared his throat and read in a high-pitched voice, " _'Yeah, of course, Johnny! It's gonna be paw-some!'_ Wow, she's a bigger dork than I imagined. Cat puns? Really? Maybe I should help you out by texting her back."

"Dave, I will punch you!"

Dave ignored him and stood up quickly, leaning away from John and typing rapidly, reading it out loud as he typed, "Sorry . . . can't go . . . too busy . . . shitting my pants . . ."

_"Dave!"_

"Also I hella . . . love you . . . marry me?"

_"STRIDER!"_

The teacher looked up from his computer and squinted his eyes at the two boys. "Mr. Strider give John his phone back already."

Reluctantly, Dave slid the phone over to John. He snatched it up and quickly erased the unsent message and sat down, sighing in relief. He texted Roxy a thumbs-up emoji, his heart still pounding excitedly. "I should text Kar and see where he's at."

It was at that moment an angry shout boomed from the hallway.  _"What's going on here!"_ A shrill yelp followed and the sound of running feet slapping through the hall at full speed slowly grew louder as Karkat Vantas zoomed past the room where John and Dave sat, not wearing a shirt and missing one shoe. Soon after, Eridan galloped by, stopping to hop on one leg and pull up his pants. "Fuck, son of a—"

_"Ampora!"_

Mr. Makara slid into the doorway, holding onto either side of the doorway and breathing heavily. "Dual, call Ms. Ohpeee and tell her we have two hooligans in some deep trouble." Without waiting for an answer, Makara took off running down the hall.

As Dual stood up to phone in the principal, Dave leaned back and pushed up his sunglasses. "What can you say? Vantas is a legend 'round here."


	3. Date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated in so long rip my soul I'm so sorry efwrgethrys

"You gonna kiss her?"

"Shut up."

"Aw, damn, I bet you wanna kiss her right on her mouth."

"Dave," John paused, floundering for an insult to say. Eventually, coming up with nothing, he shook his head, mumbling, "Shut up." The two of them pushed past the kids crowding out the door on their way out of class. No phones were allowed during class and John was itching to message Roxy. The whereabouts of Karkat and Eridan were unknown. They had spent the entire period doodling crude depictions of the teacher on pieces of paper while Mr. Ampora was chasing down Karkat and Eridan. An eagle-eyed counselor had stared them down while the teacher was away.

"I say go for it, Egbert. It's obvious you two have some kind of attraction," he said, nearly quoting Karkat from earlier. He wiggled his fingers in front of John's face, making him scrunch his nose and take a step back. 

"It hasn't even been a day yet. If anything, we're just . . . acquaintances." He continued down the hall and Dave sped up to match his pace. 

Dave let out an amused snort. "Yeah, sure. Acquaintances are like Jake and social life."

John turned the corner, heading down toward the cafeteria to meet up with Roxy. "Hey, don't shit talk your boyfriend."

That got Dave's face flaring up. "Not everyone in this school is gay, y'know, Egbert? We ain't even dating so calm your ta-tas."

Before John could execute a well-practiced eye roll, a voice called out, stopping him in his tracks, "Johnny! Hey-o, Johnny Boy!" 

John turned to see Miss Lalonde herself standing down the hall near the entrance to the lunchroom, clutching Jane's wrist, who looked rather flustered. "Roxy!" Dave snickered at John's eagerness but he ignored him and hurried forward to greet her. He stopped in front of the two girls, grinning like a doof. "I'm glad you made it!"  

Roxy grinned back at him, showing John her infectious smile once more. "Of course! Why would I wanna miss a chance to get to know my lab partner?"

John swallowed past the nervous lump in his throat and pushed back the hair from his eyes. "You ready for that tour? It's a pretty small school so it shouldn't take long."

"The longer, the better." She clicked her heels together, eager to get going. "So. We ready?"

"Uhhhh . . ." John made eye contact with his cousin, who was finally released from Roxy's death grip. She looked between the two, a little red in the face.

"Oh! If you don't mind, Dirk is expecting my presence in the cafeteria. I'll . . . see you guys later." And with a moment of awkward hesitation and protest from Roxy, she shuffled quickly past John and into the roaring lunchroom. 

Roxy turned to John. "She's cute."

Taken back by the sudden proclamation, John blinked, the words getting trapped in his throat. "Uh, not as cute as youuuuuuuuuuurrr notebook! Haha . . ." He gestured to the notebook she held under her arm. The front was covered in pink faux fur and stitched in the middle was a smiling cartoon calico cat.

"Uh, thanks, Eggy." She gave him a quizzical look, smiling slightly at the boy. "You aren't so bad yourself, either. Must run in the family." She laughed, the sound sweet like honey to John's ears. He was in such a daze he didn't realize she was walking down the hallway before she turned around and called, "Yo, Egbert, we going or what?"

John shook his head, dispersing the daydreams. "What? Oh, yeah! Wait up!" He raced after her, playfully bumping into her and laughing wildly as they hurried down the hall.

*****

"So your mom actually works for the huge company downtown?"

The two high schoolers sat in an empty classroom that hadn't been used in years, propped up on the desks and chatting the time away. 

"Yup. Old English died a few years back so she took over the company." Roxy leaned down to prop herself up on the desk next to the one John was sitting on with her elbows. "They do all kinds of weird genetic engineering shit down there. It's what helped me get into it in the first place." She was chewing on a sucker as she talked, looking up at John with bright eyes. 

"English? Like . . . Jake English?" John cocked his head to the side.

"Jake? Yeah, I think he had a kid named Jake. He'd be, what, about our age?"

"Yeah." John looked away from her for a second and furrowed his brow, eventually getting lost in thought staring at the wall. He felt a twinge of guilt once he realized he had not spoken to Jake in a long while. The two were very close friends at one point but lost touch. 

"John?"

John snapped out of his daydreaming and blinked at Roxy. "Y-yeah?"

"You alright?" She was smiling but there was a hint of concern in her voice as she craned her neck upward to get a better look at him. 

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"'Bout what?"

"Thinking . . . about how I'm ever gonna pass my math final."

She perked up in an instant, bright curls bouncing wildly. "Math? I can totally help you with math!"

That went better than expected. "Really? I've been really slipping in my math class. How good are you at Calc?"

Roxy sat up fully and leaned back into the desk chair, propping her elbow up on the back of the chair and pretending to be looking at her nails. "Passed it with a solid A."

"You passed it already? Shouldn't you be taking it this year?"

"Nah." She then added to her laid-back attitude by kicking her feet up onto the desk. "Passed it last year at my old school. Put me in all these wild advanced classes."

John eagerly leaned forward on the desk, his palms pressed downward on the smooth surface. "So you can help me study?"

"Hell yeah, Eggy. In fact, stop over at my place tonight?"

"Finals aren't until two more months─isn't it a little too early to be studying?"

Roxy shrugged, sliding her feet to the floor right as the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. "Mmm, yeah, probably. But it's also a good excuse to properly befriend the Eggman." She stood up and sauntered over to the door, leaving a star-dazed John gawking slightly as she walked past. She hesitated in the doorway, pressed a hand against the frame, and turned back to the stunned boy. "I'll text you my address later, mkay?" Then Roxy Lalonde winked slyly before disappearing through the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I hope y'all like the update even though it was a thousand years late ,,,  
> I might be working on some more fics soon though !! I have some in mind for a DaveJake and bmc fic so >:3c


	4. Pre-date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Roxy get some advice from their buddies as we learn some true intentions.

_Hey jake! Hows school been going? Is your grandma still bugging you about colleges?_

John hesitated on the send button before pushing it anyway. He felt bad rereading the texts he had previously sent to his old friend. The last one was sent a year and a half ago telling him that private islands were actually terrible places to live. He didn't have to wait long for the response.

_Greetings John! Im glad to be in touch with you once more and I am pleased to inform you that I have finally decided on a suitable college to satisfy Grandmas cockamamie botherings. As for school I have been notified that I will be graduating early due to the crackerjack job I did during my studies! I hope all is sitting pretty for you as well?_

Needless to say it took John quite some time to decipher what the hell Jake was saying. After hurting his brain for a solid while, he sent his reply.

_Hey thats good Jake! Im sitting pretty over here too. Ill be graduating on time at the end of the year while I finish up some classes._

His finger hovered over the next sentence he typed out.

_Have you heard of Roxy Lalonde by chance? I heard she transferred from your school across town._

Send.

He chewed on his lip and waited for the lengthy reply that was guaranteed to follow.

_Roxy Lalonde? As in the one related to the one and only Rose Lalonde? Good gravy who HASNT heard of her here? Apologies if I start prattling my screwball til Im blue in the puss but heavens to Betsy she was one dynamite gal! Deadly as the fucking dickens with a gun too._

His reply continued with describing her desire to teach science and explore replicating living things, similar to what her mother was doing up in the old lab. Jake seemed to know heaps about her. What confused John the most was why he never heard about her from Rose? Even though she attended the school Jake did, he still considered her one of his best friends! After some deep thinking, he concluded that she just was not fond of Roxy and did not wish to talk about her. Case closed. Still, he'd have to do some investigating later on.

A few more hours of casual talking (or, "bandying," as Jake liked to call it), John decided to head to bed and not think too hard about everything he had learned about that dynamite gal.

*****

 

_Roxy._

The highschooler looked up from her biology notes. She had already passed the class at her other school but for some reason, the transcript was lost. After an hour of heavy arguing with the administrator, she gave in and just decided to retake the class. It was just another easy A for her.

But right now she had other things on her mind. Like why the hell was this guy messaging her?

_hey dirky you good?_

A pause. A  _long_ pause. It took Dirk forever to type things out.

_Word on the streets is you've been talking up John Egbert. And the streets up here don't lie._

_do the streets happen to be called rose and jake?_

_The names of said streets aren't important._

A sigh.

_its been a day how did they even know about it? and im just tryna be his friend. ig he kinda sorta likes me and i think itll be fun to be his friend and see where this goes ;) ;)_

_The streets get information fast. Shit's like Jimmy John's freaky fast. And stop that winking. I don't like where that's going._

She frowned down at her phone as she laid on the bed, sinking down into the heap of pillows she required to be on her pastel pink bed. A few years back she admittedly had a crush on Dirk but it was clear he was  _not_ into her. Or her gender for that matter. Now he just seemed nosy. And what was she doing wrong? Messing around with a cute gullible boy for a while? It was two months into the school year so that just means she'll be in his life for six more months, graduate early while he finishes up school, and then leave. He'd probably forget about her within a few weeks, a month at most. Maybe he'll go after some pretty wannabe actress who adores cheesy films as much as he does.

_i know what im doing so stop that worrying itll give you old man wrinkles. i have to look over my notes theres already a pre-quiz coming up. laterz._

There was no pre-quiz coming up. In fact, semester one finals were two months away and she had just been looking over her Calculus notes to freshen up her memory. She had a study date coming up, so she had better be prepared.

 

*****

John may only have three classes with her, but seeing Roxy walk into the room always brightened his day. The time ticked down until tonight when he would drive over to her house and swoon her over with his charms and dorky shenanigans. Okay maybe it wouldn't be like that but he was excited for it nonetheless. He sat in his first hour, bouncing his leg to the annoyance of Karkat, waiting until she arrived. 

Roxy walked in a few seconds after the bell rang. Mr. Makara didn't notice her tardiness, either that or he just ignored it. Class began swiftly and John spent most of the time throwing glances over at Roxy, praying he was sly enough for her not to notice.

She noticed every single one. 

Next was Biology, something he truly adored. He was glad this was another class with her. She only had six out of eight classes of the day, being as she had finished the required classes, she had early release, something John was jealous of, but since he had skipped some required classes freshmen year, he was forced to stay the entire day and year catching up. 

The duo decided to skip the boring cafeteria lunch and go out to the Burger King down the street. They brought the food back to school and sat in the courtyard. It was a chilly October day, causing John to pull his jacket closer to his person. Roxy's thin scarf gently waved in the breeze. Despite the mild weather, she wore a plain T-shirt. John never ceased to be amazed by her.

After lunch, the rest of the day flew by quickly. Soon, Roxy left school and headed back home to get her notes ready. John sat in his last period, which happened to be Calculus, sweating his ass off. Karkat immediately noticed this. "Are you fucking dying?" He looked John up and down.

"Uh, a little bit, I think." John kept his eyes on the board, trying his best to focus on whatever the teacher was prattling on about.

"If it's about that Lalonde girl I think you're taking this shit too seriously. It's a date, chill out." Vantas leaned back into his chair, arms crossed in his typical Karkat style, and cocked his eyebrow up. John refused to be scrutinized by him.

"I  _am_ chill." He sat up a little more. "In fact, I'm  _so_ chill the temperature is  _significantly_ cooler on my side of the room because of my chillness." He ended his rant in a matter-of-fact tone, hoping it would end the conversation so he could focus on finding a sine and cosine curve, whatever that means.

Karkat opened his mouth, closed it, and then huffed, looking away and returning to his notes. John grinned silently at his win.

When the final bell rang, John shot out of his seat, almost knocking poor, tiny Tavros on his ass. He apologized quickly without stopping his mad dash to the door. He sprinted out to the parking lot and into his car, hoping to leave before traffic gets too hectic. Luckily for him, everyone hated going remotely as fast as him, so he had the parking lot to himself. By the time he pulled out of the school parking lot, kids were just beginning to pool out of the school. 

When he got home, John quickly greeted his father and retreated to his room. He opened his text messages and read Roxy's careful, deliberate words: her address and her signature ;) emoticon at the end. His breath caught in his throat when he first read it (and now, too). She still lived on the other side of town. He'd have to ask her why she transferred schools. He added that to his mental list of things to do, which included asking Dave if he could borrow his new shooter game and seeing if Rose was on good terms with her relative. 

With those thoughts in mind, he shuffled through his clothes, looking for something nice and not wrinkled to wear. He changed and headed to the bathroom to check his hair. His dad still wasn't home yet, which was good because he didn't feel like explaining that he had a date for the first time in three years. Freshmen year was something he refused to talk about.

Time continued to fly and soon six o'clock approached at a breathtaking speed. He sent out an "On my way now, hope you're ready to study!" text and waited for her confirmation before leaving. A million different scenarios ran through his head as he Google mapped the address and drove, rather slowly, to town, some of them making his stomach turn in knots eight times over. He hoped he didn't ruin this.

Across town, Roxy finished touching up her makeup and making sure her hair was still looking okay, the pink strand tucked neatly behind her ear. She smiled at herself in the mirror, telling herself that it was only a few more months before she got her stupid braces off. God, she hated them.

Her hate over her braces was suddenly interrupted when the doorbell rang. Her smile widened and she caught herself feeling a little giddy.  _Calm down, Rolal, don't get too attached._ She hurried out of her room and down the grand staircase to the front door. She didn't hate having an extravagant home, filled with lush fabrics and shining mirrors and lights, but man, it really did give her a workout running up and down staircases with more steps than her school. She was just glad that the front door was just a normal door, not a double door twenty feet tall. And behind that normal door stood a normal boy, dressed in his favorite sweater vest, and wearing his dorky half-grin that was tilted to one side. "Hello, madam Lalonde." His smile widened.

"Hey, dork," she replied, trying not to linger on that smile for too long. She stepped aside, beckoning him in and he followed. He entered and she closed the door behind her, taking a deep breath as he stepped into the entrance hall. This was going to be harder than she had originally planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is literally a year late but I spent it dealing with some life problems and mental illness so I hope this is good enough for an apology.


End file.
